University of Pardubice
Faculty of Art and Philosophy
Life and Intrigues at the Court of the King Henry VIII
Nikola Hladíková
Bachelor Thesis
2014
Prohlašuji:
Tuto práci jsem vypracovala samostatně. Veškeré literární prameny a informace, které jsem v práci
využila, jsou uvedeny v seznamu použité literatury.
Byla jsem seznámena s tím, že se na moji práci vztahují práva a povinnosti vyplývající ze zákona č.
121/2000 Sb., autorský zákon, zejména se skutečností, že Univerzita Pardubice má právo na uzavření
licenční smlouvy o užití této práce jako školního díla podle § 60 odst. 1 autorského zákona, a s tím, že
pokud dojde k užití této práce mnou nebo bude poskytnuta licence o užití jinému subjektu, je
Univerzita Pardubice oprávněna ode mne požadovat přiměřený příspěvek na úhradu nákladů, které
na vytvoření díla vynaložila, a to podle okolností až do jejich skutečné výše.
Souhlasím s prezenčním zpřístupněním své práce v Univerzitní knihovně Univerzity Pardubice.
V Pardubicích dne 26. 6. 2014
Nikola Hladíková
Acknowledgement:
I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Olga Roebuck, PhD., M.Litt. for
her priceless advice and endless patience that she had with me. I also would love to thank all
of my friends for their very last minute help and support. Last but not least I would like to
express my warmest thanks to my cousin’s great girlfriend Karolína who helped me a lot and
I have to thank my parents for their infinite support and faith in me.
ANNOTATION
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to analyse a treatment of historical events and processing of
literary characters and comparing them with real events and historical personages. The
primary source is a historical novel Wolf Hall written by a British writer, Hilary Mantel. This
bachelor thesis examines the intrigues and life at the court of Henry VIII and closely analyse
the characters that spin those intrigues.
KEYWORDS: Wolf Hall, Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn, tudor, Thomas Wolsey, Hilary
Mantel, king, Henry VIII
NÁZEV
Život a intriky na dvoře krále Jindřicha VIII
ANOTACE
Hlavním cílem této bakalářské práce je analyzovat nakládání s historickými událostmi a se
zpracováním literárních postav a jejich srovnáním se skutečnými událostmi a historickými
postavami. Primárním zdrojem je historický román Wolf Hall, který byl napsán britskou
autorkou Hilary Mantel. Tato bakalářská práce zkoumá intriky a život na dvoře krále
Jindřicha VIII a zblízka analyzuje postavy, které tyto intriky spřádají.
Klíčová slova: Wolf Hall, Thomas Cromwell, Anna Boleynová, tudorovský, Hilary Mantel,
král, Jindřich VIII
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION................................................................... 8
1. ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS ............................ 11
2. LIFE AND INTRIGUES AT THE COURT ................ 20
3. LITERARY LANGUAGE ............................................. 25
4. TREATMENTS OF HISTORICAL EVENTS ............ 30
5. LITERARY CHARACTERS ANALYSIS ................... 34
CONCLUSION...................................................................... 46
RESUMÉ................................................................................ 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................. 55
INTRODUCTION
The Tudor period was one of the most interesting and notoriously known
in the history of Great Britain; many significant changes, revolutions and
twists had occurred and England had undergone many changes and
unimaginable events for the people currently living in the Tudor times;
England was forever changed and never again was the same. Henry VII
usurped the throne by military force and ended the bloody long-lasting
Wars of the Roses and his son, Henry VIII, changed the course of history
of the whole England when he broke with Rome and established
the completely new religion in his realm and became the head of his own
Church, Church of England. However, the King would not have managed
none of these without the help of his loyal servants Thomas Wolsey,
Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell; his irretrievable advisors.
This bachelor thesis deals with the analysis of a book called Wolf Hall.
Wolf Hall is a historical novel written by Hilary Mantel that has
immediately become a bestseller. The book was published by Forth
Estate in 2009 and soon after was honoured with several awards. It is
a well written fictional biography based on Henry VIII’s servant’s life,
Thomas Cromwell. Hilary Mantel wanted to focus on the life of Thomas
Cromwell whose deeds and importance usually remains hidden in
the shadows. The main character and also the narrator is Thomas
Cromwell himself; a lowborn man who managed great things but for the
highest price. It was very rare that a lowborn man became so important
and powerful and that is the reason why Hilary Mantel writes about it in
great detail. Mantel decided to introduce the Tudor era from a different
point of view; not from the King’s perspective but she intended to outline
Thomas Cromwell’s importance and tell the story through his eyes. She
wants the readers to live Cromwell’s life together with him and feel
exactly the same feelings.
The plot of the book is set in England during the reign of Henry VIII
who is dealing with his ”Great Matter”; the divorce with Katherine of
8
Aragon who is a daughter of powerful sovereigns from Spain. Another
big issue of the book is Henry’s enchantment with Anne Boleyn who
craves to be the queen of England and is literary capable of doing
anything to reach her goals. Nevertheless, the King’s main intention is to
have a male heir so as to secure the Tudor dynasty and this goal is
haunting him all his life. The book covers the topic of palace intrigues
and efforts of people who try to come to power at all costs.
The subject of analysis is the author’s treatment of historical events and
data; whether she uses true and historically proven facts and real
personages or whether she is creating her own characters and modifying
historical events according to her own imagination and purposes. To
answer these questions is essential a proper understanding of events dealt
in Wolf Hall. This is the reason why it was necessary that the first chapter
was dedicated to historical circumstances started in 1485 when the Tudor
reign began with the first Tudor king Henry VII. The first chapter covers
all the important details that serve for accurate understanding of events
taking place in Wolf Hall and their explanations. There are inserted
passages from Wolf Hall in the first chapter that covers historical
information to demonstrate how the history of the Tudors and the story of
the book are closely connected together.
At Henry’s court iniquities and secrecies are constantly going on and
the second chapter deals with those palace intrigues and life providing
an explanation which characters spin the intrigues and for what purposes.
There is shown why two main factions are intriguing against each other
and how important is to win in this dangerous game; a loss in this game
could mean a death.
The third chapter deals with literary language and styles in which Wolf
Hall is written. Despite the fact that Wolf Hall is a modern fictional novel
the literary style is very interesting in many aspects and the explanation
is provided throughout the chapter three. Hilary Mantel adorns her book
with plenty of jokes, interesting facts and even uses different languages
to make the book more accurate the Tudor times. Although Wolf Hall is
9
a historical fiction and the story takes place in medieval England Hilary
Mantel is using a contemporary language and ingeniously adds
interesting features to make her book special.
The forth chapter deals with treatment of historical facts giving
information if Hilary Mantel is strictly following the course of history or
whether she adds her own little stories and ideas to make the book more
interesting and unpredictable. The manner in which she uses historical
sources is very interesting and their utilizations in the book as well.
The last fifth chapter is based on the analysis of certain characters from
Wolf Hall and their comparison with real Tudor personages. The goal is
to discover if Hilary Mantel strictly follows descriptions provided by
historians or whether she makes her own characters and their natures.
The main purpose of this bachelor thesis is literary analysis of Wolf Hall.
The attention is paid on the survey of historical facts; how Mantel treats
them and how she involves them in her book. Great emphasis is also put
on the characters and their comparison with the real people. The goal is
to discover if Mantel managed to portray Wolf Hall characters according
to historical sources and thus tell the real story about The Tudors and
Thomas Cromwell without the slightest tap from the truth or whether in
addition to the actual characters creates other completely new characters
according to her imagination. This bachelor thesis also analyses using
historical events, their accuracy and how the writer was capable of
depicting the Tudor times and inserting her characters into the book.
The Tudor period is a really famous time span and many professional
books have been written about it and most of them contain a similar
content. For this reason I chose the literature which was found the most
adequate and suited for the purposes of this bachelor thesis.
10
1. ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS
In this chapter the attention is paid only to the important and basic facts
about the Tudor monarchs. Only the circumstances relevant for Wolf Hall
are mentioned in detail, which is the period from the fall of Cardinal
Wolsey to the night, when Thomas More was executed. The reason that
only basic facts can be outlined is that the excessive historical context
would not fit within the scope of this thesis; as such the focus is on
the most relevant facts. This chapter is essential for the whole bachelor
thesis to understand the historical context and to be familiar with
the Tudor period, which is important to better understanding of
the events, characters and their acts in Wolf Hall.
The Tudors were one of the most notorious rulers in the history of Great
Britain despite the fact their reign did not last very long time. Internet
resource Britannica informs that the House of Tudor was of Welsh origin
and there were only 5 Tudor sovereigns all together. The first Tudor king
was Henry VII (reigned 1485–1509) who was followed by his son, Henry
VIII (1509–47). Henry VIII was followed by his three children, Edward
VI (1547–53), Mary I (1553–58), and Elizabeth I (1558–1603). 1
According to Elton’s England under the Tudors, the beginning of
the Tudor reign is traced back to 1485, August 22, when Henry VII, earl
of Richmond, beat his rival Richard III (died without a direct heir) who
commanded a stronger army; unfortunately for Richard his army was
halved by treason, leading to his downfall. Richard III was killed and
Henry VII won one of the successive battles which took place near
the Leicestershire township of Market Bosworth (1485) and finally ended
the Wars of the Roses after 20 long years of fights.2 Henry VII seized
the throne by military force and started a famous period of the Tudor
reign full of intrigues, executions and religious revolutions.
1
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s. v. "House of Tudor", accessed November 04,
2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/608456/House-of-Tudor
2
Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, England Under the Tudors: (Great Britain: Cox and Wyman
Ltd., London, Reading and Fakenham and bound by James Burn Co. Ltd., Esher, 1955)
1
11
Henry VII’s claim to the throne was dubious as Elton in his book
England under the Tudors explains:
He claimed to represent the line of Lancaster; his mother
Margaret was the last of the Beauforts, John of Gaunt’s
illegitimate descendants who had been legitimized by the Pope
and by Richard II. However, an insertion, itself of doubtful
validity, in Henry IV’s confirmation of his predecessor’s grant
had denied them the right to succeed to the crown3.
It is clear from this excerpt that Henry VII had almost no right to
the throne so he just claimed himself the king and in 1485 announced to
his Parliament the fact he came to the throne by inheritance. For a long
time there were conspiracies to seize the throne because there were other
claimants who had better claim than Henry, but none of them were
successful.4 Henry VII needed to stop all these revolts and as Elton says
in England under the Tudors Henry VII made a good political match; he
married Elisabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV, in January
1486. Soon afterwards in September 1486, Elisabeth gave a birth to a son
whose name was Arthur.5 In 1488-9 Henry VII negotiated a treaty of
marriage with a Spanish princess, Katherine of Aragon, who was
a member of a royal Spanish family; her parents were Isabella of Castile
and Ferdinand of Aragon.6 Henry wanted to secure recognition for his
dynasty via some European power and the rising influence and power of
Spain seemed to be a great choice. Moreover, this alliance looked to help
England in the eternal struggle with France. Henry VII saw this match as
very advantageous but later on it was his son, Henry VIII, who regretted
it.
Only few people mourned, when the old king passed away for there was
a new young king, seventeen-year-old Henry VIII, who was announced
King on 24 April. Henry VIII was born on 28 June 1491 and became
Duke of York. Alison Weir in her book King and Court notes that Henry
3
Elton, England under the Tudors, 19
Elton, England under the Tudors, 18
5
The revival of the ancient British name – King Arthur)
6
Elton, England under the Tudors, 20 - 24
4
12
was never destined to be a king since he had an older brother Arthur who
was meant to be the ruler and Henry should have entered the Church, as
the second son but because of the death of his elder brother, he became
the heir to the throne.7
Henry VIII’s main responsibility was to have a son and heir; this was
a big issue in all his life because he needed to secure his dynasty, to make
sure there would be a son to continue the line of the Tudors, he married
Katherine of Aragon, who was perfect for that purpose; she had good
political benefits and with Katherine came the support of Spain. Alison
Weir states that a papal dispensation for this match was needed because
canon law forbade a man to marry his brother’s widow. Therefore
Katherine had to swear that her marriage with Arthur was never
consummated.8 This dispensation caused many problems during
the King’s later divorce with Katherine of Aragon.
Katherine of Aragon was not able to give Henry a male heir; their only
offspring was Princess Mary. This is the breaking point when Henry
realized that he wanted to divorce. This is an important issue mentioned
in Wolf Hall:
Six times (to the world’s knowledge) Katherine and the king have
lived in hope of an heir. ‘I remember the winter child,’ Wolsey
says. … The queen was taken unexpectedly with pains and the
prince was born early, just at the turn of the year. When he was
less than an hour old I held him in my arms …. We called him the
New Year’s prince. We said he would be the richest, the most
beautiful, and the most devoted. … He breathed fifty-two days,
and I counted every one of them.’ 9
Alison Weir in her book The Six Wives of Henry VIII adds that Katherine
of Aragon was probably pregnant six or eight times but there was only
one child who survived and it was her daughter, Princess Mary. In
the Tudor period it was always women who were blamed for stillbirths
and neonatal deaths and in 1525 was publicly known that Katherine of
7
Alison Weir, Henry VIII: King and Court: (Great Britain: Vintage, 2008) 1 - 4
Weir, Henry VIII: King and Court: 7 - 8
9
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, (London: Forth Estate, 2009), 80 - 81
8
13
Aragon is past the age when women commonly bear children. It was
clear that there would not be any male heir.10 The King still needed a son
to secure his dynasty and he knew that it would not be possible with
Katherine.
Peter Ackroyd in The History of England: Tudors claims that the second
reason for the divorce11 was that Henry VIII fell in love with Anne
Boleyn who simply charmed him. He obviously was in love with her but
the main reason for the divorce was procreation of a legitimate male heir.
As the reason for the divorce was stated that he married his brother’s
widow and this was against Leviticus12 and therefore the King is living in
a sin.13 This is essential in the King’s divorce case and also a reason why
Hilary Mantel deals with this situation in Wolf Hall:
The trial of the king’s great matter is approaching. The king
intends to show that when Queen Katherine came to him she was
not a virgin, having consummated her marriage with his brother
Arthur.14
The King needed to prove that Katherine of Aragon was not a virgin
when he married her so he could claim the marriage void and against the
God’s will. Peter Ackroyd adds that Henry asked his cardinal, Thomas
Wolsey, that he arranged the coveted divorce because Henry trusted
Wolsey in all the matters; he was a man of a great power, king’s
Councillor and a close friend answerable solely and only to the King
himself. Eventually, the people began to say that Wolsey became
a second king, which brought Wolsey many enemies. In the end
the cardinal failed convincing the Pope to grant his holly blessing and
approval on the matter of the divorce, which led to cardinal’s fall – his
days of glory were gone. Thomas Wolsey was accused of high treason
10
Alison Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, (New York: Grove Press, 1992), 120
It was an annulment rather than a divorce, but most sources mention a divorce
12
The king’s marriage was against Leviticus, there is a verse that says that a man who
marries his brother’s widow shall be childless. Henry was an amateur theologian and as
a formal Christian was well aware of this.
13
Peter Ackroyd, The History of England: Tudors (London: Pan Books, 2013), 58 - 65
14
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 143
11
14
and was sentenced to death. Cardinal died in 1529 on his way to
the Tower in Leicester Abbey, where he was buried.15
Elton in England under the Tudors writes that Thomas Cromwell was
born in about 1485 at Putney to his father who was a blacksmith and
a brewer.16 Cromwell was of very humble origins and Mantel puts a lot
of emphasis on it in Wolf Hall because it was not common to become
someone as powerful as Cromwell was and to be of a lowborn origin,
which is something, Hilary Mantel intents to highlight in the book. See
an example when Wolsey is talking to Thomas Cromwell:
‘You can never advance your own pedigree – and God knows,
Tom, you were born in a more dishonourable estate than me – so
the trick is always to keep them scraped up to their own
standards.’17
Elton adds that very little is known about Cromwell’s childhood. His life
career was much diverted, he was a mercenary in Italian wars and
afterwards he became a merchant and somehow he learnt the common
law so he became a lawyer. Cromwell was well known for his wit, he
never forgot either of his friends or benefactors, among them Thomas
Wolsey.18 This is perfectly displayed in Wolf Hall when Thomas
Cromwell refuses to abandon his master Thomas Wolsey although it
means that Cromwell might be discredited as well and lose his social
status. This situation captures a moment when George Cavendish sees
Cromwell crying and asks him why and Cromwell replies:
’I am crying for myself,’ he says. ‘I am going to lose everything,
everything I have worked for, all my life, because I will go down
with the cardinal … because I have done what he asked me to do,
and been his friend, and the man at his right hand.’19
Cromwell refuses to abandon his master and saves his own skin; he is
loyal to Wolsey until Wolsey’s death.
15
Ackroyd, The History of England: Tudors , 65 - 74
Elton, England Under the Tudors, 127
17
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 70
18
Elton, England Under the Tudors, 127
19
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 156
16
15
As Elton comments, the Cromwell’s loyalty helped him to enter into
the King’s service in 1530 and a year later he belonged to the inner
circle. He had unbeatable administrative skills; thanks to them he
obtained many offices, one of which was master of the jewels and later
on he added others: Clerk of the Hanaper (1532), Chancellor of
the Exchequer (1533), Principal Secretary and Master of the Rolls
(1534), and finally Lord Privy Seal (1536). Cromwell was not powerful
because of his offices but because of the King’s confidence. Cromwell
proved his wit when he found simple solution to the King’s problem. He
suggested that Henry could implement supremacy by ousting the Pope
out of England, which was a chance for the King to obtain his divorce.20
In Elton’s England under the Tudors is explained that The King took
seriously what Cromwell proposed and put things in motion. In February
1531 the King was recognized as the Supreme Head of the Church of
England by indicted clergy. The spiritual authority of the Pope was not
unchallenged yet because the King did not break with Rome, only set
himself as the temporal head of the English Church. Later on Henry was
disgusted by the Pope’s procrastinations and wanted a complete break
with Rome. In 1532 Henry VIII secretly married Anne Boleyn because
she was carrying his child (Henry expected a boy) and it was unthinkable
to let the child born as a bastard. Unfortunately for Anne, she gave birth
to a healthy red-haired girl whose name was Elisabeth.21 Hilary Mantel in
Wolf Hall displays that the King was really expecting a son and was
disappointed with a daughter:
‘Healthy?’ he says. ‘Then I thank God for his favour to us. As I
thank you, my lords, for this comfortable intelligence.’… The
king walks away towards his own rooms. Says over his shoulder,
‘Call her Elizabeth. Cancel the jousts.’22
20
Elton, England Under the Tudors, 129
Elton, England Under the Tudors, 130 - 132
22
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 484
21
16
This extract shows that the King is not pleased with Anne Boleyn and his
daughter; there is no reason for the King and his realm to celebrate any
more for there is no heir to continue and secure the dynasty.
Elton continues in England under the Tudors that in 1534 the Act of
Supremacy was established and recognized Henry VIII as the “Supreme
Head of the Church”. Who refused to swear was sentenced to death
including Thomas More and Bishop Fisher. Also English nobility had to
take an oath in which they recognized Anne Boleyn as the Queen of
England and Henry’s lawful wife. The Dissolution came after the Act of
Supremacy, which caused the abolition of all Catholic monasteries and
abbeys, which brought enormous wealth to the King.23
Finally, the King had his utmost desire but his love and compassion for
Anne started to decline. Alison Weir points out that Anne miscarried her
two unborn children, which disappointed Henry for he was aware of
the fact the last one was a stillborn boy. Subsequently, the King was
disgusted by Anne Boleyn who was just an obstacle for him at this point
and decided to eliminate her. Cromwell constructed a plot against her and
she was accused of adultery and executed in 1536. Historians believe that
none of the accusations against Anne Boleyn were supported on true
testimonies.24 Henry VIII was still without a male heir and he craved for
a boy, successor of the throne more than ever before.
Alison Weir says that another woman in Henry’s life was Jane Seymour.
Henry had to wait a long time but finally Jane gave him a son, Edward. A
legal heir to the throne meant the Tudor dynasty was secure; the spectre
of civil war was suppressed. Soon after the birth of a young prince, the
Queen died, probably as a result of unhygienic obstetric methods
employed during her confinement.25 Although Henry VIII lost his
beloved wife he finally had a son. The King’s lifelong desire was finally
fulfilled.
23
Elton, England Under the Tudors, 132 - 137
Weir, Henry VIII: King and Court, 237 - 368
25
Weir, Henry VIII: King and Court, 398 - 408
24
17
Alison Weir mentions the year 1540 when Henry VIII wedded Anne of
Cleves at the suggestion of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell assumed that
a union
between
England
and
Protestant
Germany
would
be
advantageous. Unfortunately Henry did not find any feelings for Anne of
Cleves, on the contrary he was disgusted by her and he fell in love with
young and beautiful Katherine Howard. Henry let Anne of Cleves know
that their wedlock was invalid and was about to be annulled. Anne of
Cleves did not protest at all and in return she gained 500 pounds
(150,000 pounds nowadays) a year, Richmond Palace, Hever Castle,
Buckingham Manor and was allowed to call herself the King’s sister. On
the background of these events Thomas Cromwell was arrested and
sentenced to death for high treason and heresy. He was beheaded on 28
July 1540.26 Thomas Cromwell was one of the best and most loyal
servant the King ever had and did a lot for him and his kingdom yet it
was not enough for the King to grand him a royal pardon.
In a book called King and Court is stated that on the day of Cromwell’s
execution, the King married Katherine Howard in private. Katherine
Howard was a young and naïve girl who fell in love with a king’s
servant, Thomas Culpepper. Their secret meetings were revealed and
Katherine Howard and Thomas Culpepper were sentenced to death.
27
The old King was not able to show any mercy for those two poor young
lovers.
Britannica notes that the King for the last time found his interest in 30year-old Katherine Parr and married her a year later on 12 July 1543; she
was his only wife who outlived him.28
Henry VIII is seen as a true monarch who made the Tudor period one of
the best known and the most important in the history of Great Britain.
Henry VIII died in 1547 in London aged 56.
26
Weir, Henry VIII: King and Court,418- 419, 427, 433, 435
Weir, Henry VIII: King and Court, 437, 452, 453, 456, 458
28
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Henry VIII", accessed February 22, 2014,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/261947/Henry-VIII.
27
18
In History of Britain and Ireland: The Definitive Visual Guide is written that
after Henry VIII died in 1542 he was succeeded by his son, Edward VI
aged just nine. Young Edward was sick and it was clear his reign was not
going to last long. It would have meant that Mary I, his Catholic elder
sister, would become a queen. Even Edward himself gave his support to
his aunt, Protestant Lady Jane Gray, by signing “Device of
the Succession.” This way the succession skipped Mary and Lady Jane
Gray became a queen after Edward’s VI death. Lady Jane Gray was a
grand-daughter of Henry VII and had a weak but legitimate claim to the
throne. Unlike Mary, she did not have enough support either military or
from the people and she is known as the queen who reigned nine days.
After only nine days Lady Jane Gray was executed for high treason. 29
R.G. Grant explains that after the death of Lady Jane Gray, Mary I
became the Queen of England. Mary was a ruthless and tough queen; she
burnt many Protestants during her reign and thus was called “Bloody
Mary”. There was nobody to continue her work, so she agreed that
Elisabeth, her sister, would succeed the throne. After Mary I died,
Elisabeth I became the Queen. Elisabeth I never married and never had
an heir so she chose James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scots to succeed to
the English throne as James I of England.30 Elisabeth I was the last of the
Tudor monarchs and by her the reign of the Tudor dynasty ended, her
successor James I was the first Stuart monarch on the English throne.
29
R.G. Grant et al., History of Britain and Ireland: The Definitive Visual Guide (New
York: DK Publishing, 2014) 133
30
Grant et al, History of Britain and Ireland: The Definitive Visual Guide, 133, 137,
140, 141
19
2. LIFE AND INTRIGUES AT THE COURT
In this chapter information about the King’s court and its intrigues are
provided, however, the emphasis is put on the important issues that
are relevant for Wolf Hall.
The King’s court was a place where the King and his queen lived, all the
intrigues were spun and where all the actions took place. It was not only
the King and his queen who lived at the court but also courtiers, servants
and many others who helped to run the whole household. Alison Weir in
her book explains that Henry VIII’s court was the first Renaissance court
in England and Henry used a great deal of his father’s money to establish
it. The court was a nomadic institution, extravagant and wasteful place,
moving from palace to palace (Greenwich, Richmond, Windsor,
Westminster, the Tower of London, Eltham Palace, Hampton court.31
Henry VIII’s court was one of the most lavishing, magnificent and
triumphant in the English history. The court was a place for high ranked
people whose ancient pedigree provided them with a certain position in
the king’s household or there were ‘new men’ whose friends or mere
ability secured them their place at the court. Alison Weir in Six Wives of
Henry VIII adds that it was Wolsey who transformed the old disgusting
court into its modern version. He restricted number of people
accommodated in castle and even the food was rationed but still very
generously.32 The King was proud of his court and Weir writes that it
was Henry who first expressed a desire to be called ‘Your Majesty’
rather than ‘Your Grace’; no English king before had such power and
none had after him.33
It was not only courtiers with a noble pedigree who surrounded and
worked for the King. Alison Weir explains that Henry preferred men who
could offer him their good services, loyalty and companionship.34 It is
understandable that high-level courtship did not like the idea that
31
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 87
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 89, 90
33
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 80
34
Weir, Henry VIII; King and Court, 96
32
20
lowborn people should hold their rightful place at the King’s side. This is
a topic that appears many times in Wolf Hall. The following passage
expresses disapproval one of the courtiers on the fact how powerful
lowborn people might be:
Sir Thomas’s face has drained; the scarlet spots have vanished
from his cheeks, and he is almost fainting with rage. As he quits
the room, he whispers, ‘Butcher’s boy.’ And as he passes the
clerk – whose beefy hand lies idly on his desk – he sneers,
‘Butcher’s dog.’35
This passage clearly shows the hatred and envy that aristocrats feel
towards lowborn high ranking people who held high-ranking position at
the court of the King.
Thomas Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell were no aristocrats yet both of
them were powerful men and were Henry’s close friends who advised
him and Henry cherished and followed their advice in return. Katherine
of Aragon states in Wolf Hall: “’Do you know who this is? This is
Master Cromwell. Who now writes all the laws.’”36 Cardinal Wolsey
became also very powerful and was on the top of his powers, which
describes the situation that lasted until the late 1520s, when Henry was
mature enough to rule on his own without Wolsey’s help, as Weir adds.37
In Wolf Hall Mantel deals with Wolsey’s huge power in detail, to provide
an example: Wolsey talks with Cromwell and underlines Wolsey’s
power. “’The king will do such-and-such. ’Then he began to say, ‘We
will do such-and-such.’ Now he says, ‘This is what I will do.’”38 Mantel
shows that Wolsey was becoming more and more powerful, involved in
many intrigues with Thomas Cromwell who works as a spy for Wolsey
providing him with a huge amount of information and gossips.
“’Thomas, from now on, any London gossip, ‘he touches the damask
cloth, ‘bring it right here to me. Don’t trouble about the source.’”39 Those
are Wolsey’s words in Wolf Hall. The King’s court was a dangerous
35
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 70
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 288
37
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 79
38
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 28
39
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 75
36
21
place full of menacing people who wanted to profit from the King’s
favour.
Everyone who wanted to be powerful or achieve high ranked status
needed to attend the king’s court. According to G.J. Meyer the most
essential thing was access. Anyone who wanted to rise in King’s
services, government, church, or in a military service needed access to
the King himself, which meant to go where the King lived, the court. It
was impossible to be successful without being known by the King or his
closest friends and all of the major figures of the Tudor age. Thomas
Wolsey, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Thomas More, Thomas
Cromwell, and Thomas Cranmer, all of them gained their power and
success because of their access to the court and the King himself.
The rise of the Boleyn family is a good example how the friendship and
good access to the King worked and how fruitful it might have been, but
also illustrates how bad the situation could be when the political weather
changed.
40
It was not effortless to come closer to the King or become
a friend of him. There were only few, who managed, but then they had
a great influence on him; one of them was young Anne Boleyn.
Anne together with her family were masters at spinning intrigues and
Anne Boleyn knew exactly what she wanted; to be the queen of England
and the King’s lawful consort. Mantel pointed out the Boleyn’s family
deviousness and avarice in Wolf Hall when cardinal Wolsey is talking
with Thomas Cromwell about the rumours about Anne Boleyn: “’But her
family will want to get something out of it. What did they get before?’”41
Everyone wanted something from the King and Thomas Boleyn was
willing to trade his own daughter for money and power. Alison Weir
writes that the King was so deeply in love with Anne Boleyn that he was
enslaved by her. She and her family started to influence the King, which
was dangerous for Boleyn’s enemies; one of them was Thomas Wolsey.
Thomas Boleyn started to perceive Cardinal Wolsey as a dangerous
40
G.J. Meyer, The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty
(New York: Random house, 2010) , 110 - 112
41
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 75
22
enemy, too powerful so he and several other lords decided to use Anne
against him and destroy him forever.42 In Wolf Hall Mantel shows that
the Duke of Norfolk and Thomas Boleyn hate Wolsey and make many
attempts to destroy him.: ”When the cardinal had heard that the Duke of
Norfolk was coming out to Richmond to tear him with his teeth, he had
laughed and said, ‘Marry, Thomas, time to be going.’”43 Wolsey was
a wise man who was aware of his enemies, but not afraid of them. Mantel
also blames Anne Boleyn of the Cardinal Wolsey’s fall in Wolf Hall.:
He thinks, Anne arranged this, and it must have given her an
intense and secret pleasure; vengeance deferred, for herself, for
her old lover, once berated by the cardinal and sent packing from
the court.44
Alison Weir adds that Anne was convinced that Cardinal Wolsey
destroyed her secret marriage with Henry Percy so she would do
anything to disgrace the cardinal.45 Anne Boleyn was a clever, strong
woman who followed her goals callously. To achieve what she wanted
she would go over the dead bodies without taking care of anyone or
anything.
When the powerful lavish courtiers of the English court were not plotting
they needed to be entertained. Many pastimes took place at the king’s
court and they cost a lot of King’s money. Alison Weir lists several
disports that were popular at the Tudor court; hunts, tournaments,
banquets, balls, sporting events and many more. However, Alison Weir
notes:
But perhaps the most popular and spectacular of the
entertainments staged for the pleasure of the Tudor court was the
pageant, an early dramatic form. Pageants followed a set pattern:
the male participants would enter the hall clad in matching
costumes with a certain significance; then the ladies, in
complementary attire, would emerge from a kind of stage on
wheels, which could be made to resemble a castle, a forest, a
42
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 140, 162
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 208
44
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 260
45
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 158
43
23
mountain, the sea, or anything else that the King’s Master of the
Revels could devise.46
In Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel first introduces Anne Boleyn at the King’s
court during one of the pageants that were so common at that time. The
ladies were dressed as Virtues, and Anne Boleyn was presenting
Perseverance.47 Mantel also uses this scene and reflects it in the story of
Wolf Hall. “At Shrovetide, she dances in a court masque. The ladies are
costumed as Virtues, and she takes the part of Perseverance.”48 Alison
Weir in Six Wives of Henry VIII confirms that Anne Boleyn was chosen
to take part in one of those pageants planned for Lent, but the King was
still interested in Anne’s sister, Mary Boleyn.49 This sequence from
the book was both used as an introduction of Lady Anne Boleyn with her
past and as an example of the palace gossips which gave readers insight
into the matter and informs about important circumstances. Mantel gives
her readers hints that are relevant to the story and also are historically
proven: “The rumour spreads that she is going to marry Harry Percy,
the Earl of Northumberland’s heir”50 Mantel uses this information as
an unconfirmed conjecture but in fact it is a historically proven fact.
Alison Wear notes that it is known that Anne Boleyn really wanted to
marry Henry Percy, the 21-year-old heir to the earldom of
Northumberland, but their secret intentions were disclosed. Wolsey did
not perceive Anne to be worthy of such a great marriage. 51 Intrigues and
rumours were on a daily basis of lives not only of noble courtiers but even of
ordinary people and Hilary Mantel incorporates them masterly into her book.
46
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 90 - 91
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 67
48
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 67
49
Weir, Six Wives of Henry VIII, 155
50
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 67
51
Weir, Six Wives of Henry VIII, 156 - 157
47
24
3. LITERARY LANGUAGE
Hilary Mantel uses a very unique voice throughout Wolf Hall. It is called
a third person, which is Cromwell’s perspective and she is referring to
him as “he” rather than just Cromwell, which is sometimes a bit
confusing, readers have to get used to it. Mantel in the interview with the
Wall Street Journal explains that it was a voice that just came out. She
thinks that her readers are looking through Cromwell’s eyes so the first
person narrative could not be used. So she feels that since she is behind
his eyes, she cannot really start calling him Thomas Cromwell. She chose
the other way of doing it, which has now become one of the main
features of the book.52 The readers see and feel everything exactly as
Cromwell does, the other characters are perceived from the Cromwell’s
point of view. The readers see Anne Boleyn as well as she is seen by
Cromwell in Wolf Hall: „She’s so small. Her bones are so delicate, her
waist so narrow if two law students make one cardinal, two Annes make
one Katherine.”53 This is exactly the way Thomas Cromwell sees Anne
and Mantel wants her readers to perceive her in the same way. Cromwell
also interprets the appearance of the King himself: „The king smiles.
That fine curl of the red lip. He has a pretty mouth, almost like a
woman’s, it is too small for his face.”54 Throughout the whole book the
readers are witnesses of Cromwell’s deepest and most intimate thoughts
and findings. Sometimes it seems that Cromwell is speaking to the
readers, it almost seems that the readers are a part of the story: “Thomas
Boleyn is with us, Earl of Wiltshire. Lord Privy Seal is here; ….”55 Some
passages are written in a way that it seems that Cromwell is commenting
on the situation as he was talking to the readers themselves.
Contemporary language is used throughout Wolf Hall. The reason Mantel
is doing so is that there are a lot of words that have changed their
52
Alexander Alter,”Hilary Mantel on her Sequel to “Wolf Hall”, “The Wall Street
Journal,
May
10,
2012,
accessed
January
10,
2014,
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/05/10/hilary-mantel-on-her-sequel-to-wolf-hall/
53
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 200
54
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 181
55
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 281
25
meaning and form since the Tudor times. To get an idea in which way
the book would have looked like if the Tudor English had been used see
the extract below:
“Hit may lyke your good Grace to be advertised that I have
received your Graces Lettres directed to my selfe date the last day
of Auguste, with the Lettres of my Lord Admirall to your Grace,
sent in Post, and copies of Lettres sent betwene the Queen of
Scots and … .56”
This is a short extract from the letter which was written by Thomas More
to Cardinal Wolsey. It is obvious that English in the Tudor times did not
have strict grammatical rules which are used today. It would be difficult
to understand the text and the writer would have to have great knowledge
of Tudor English therefore Mantel decided to use a modern language.
Hilary in the interview for The Wall Street Journal explains why:
And I think the obvious thing is, stick to modern English, but just
occasionally invert the word order, introduce a rhythm that’s
slightly different, try to get a suggestion for the period, without
being heavy handed about it.57
It is demonstrated by the following excerpt from Wolf Hall describing
Wolsey and Cromwell discussing Queen Katherine complaining about
Wolsey’s intrigues against her:
He has used every means he can, she says, to drive me from the
king’s side, so that I know nothing of his projects, and so that he,
the cardinal, should have the direction of all. He has prevented my
meetings with the ambassador of Spain. He has put spies in my
household – my women are all spies for him.58
56
Henry Ellis, F.R.S. Sec. S.A., Original Letters Illustrative of English History
including Numerous Royal Letters: From Autograph in the British Museum and One or
Two Other Collections with Notes and Illustrations,(London: printed for: Harding,
Triphook, And Lepard, MDCCXXII)
57
Alexander Alter, “Hilary Mantel on her Sequel to “Wolf Hall”, “The Wall Street
Journal,
May
10,
2012,
accessed
January
10,
2014,
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/05/10/hilary-mantel-on-her-sequel-to-wolf-hall/
58
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 83
26
This excerpt shows that Mantel is not using historicisms but she just uses
slightly different rhythm to achieve the right effect, as she explains in
the interview.
In another short excerpt in which Anne Boleyn is dancing at the Henry
VIII’s feast we can distinguish the use of a contemporary language, to be
more specific a phrasal compound: “She dances gracefully but briskly,
with an amused expression on her face, a hard, impersonal touch-me-not
smile.”59 Mantel often uses humour to make the book more readable,
even in bad situations the characters does not lose their sense of humour,
although it is an irony or grim humour. It is possible to distinguish it in
the following passage from Wolf Hall. After Wolsey’s disgrace, the King
is confiscating Wolsey’s palace for Lady Anne Boleyn when Cromwell
notes: “’Have I missed something? This palace belongs to the
archdiocese of York. When was Lady Anne made an archbishop?’”60
Mantel uses jokes and dramatic irony to entertain readers and lighten the
storyline, for example when young Thomas Cromwell declares after
being beat up by his father: “’I’ve had enough of this. If he gets after me
again I’m going to kill him, and if I kill him they’ll hang me, and if
they’re going to hang me I want a better reason.”61 This is a nice example
of a dramatic irony because it is known Cromwell was executed, not
hanged, but beheaded.
In Wolf Hall there are many salacious jokes to entertain readers that give
the book its uniqueness, wit and humour. To give an example: Thomas
Cromwell is talking with a boatman who is gossiping about Lady Anne
Boleyn and her brother George Rochford.
… ‘- because she knows that very night her brother’s inside her,
licking her up to the lungs, and then he’s, excuse me, sister, what
shall I do with this big package – she says, oh, don’t distress
59
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 67
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 48
61
Mantel Wolf Hall, 9
60
27
yourself, my lord brother, shove it up the back entry, it’ll come to
no harm there.’62
In this passage the sexual innuendo is more than obvious and gives
the book its spicy side.
Wolf Hall is written in English but Mantel decided to use other languages
to make the book more interesting and authentic. In Tudor times it was
common that high rank people could speak many languages like French,
Latin, Spanish, German, even Welsh and Flemish. To be able to speak in
many different languages was essential for courtiers if they wanted to
hold important offices. It is mentioned in Wolf Hall that important highranked people can speak many languages. “The queen speaks in English.
‘Do you know who this is? This is Master Cromwell. Who now writes all
the laws.’ Caught awkwardly between languages, he says, ‘Madam, shall
we go on in English, or Latin?’”63 Hilary Mantel intended to make the
book more authentic so in some cases Mantel replaces English by other
languages. Foreign words are always written in italics and sometimes
they are translated or explained but once in a while there is no
explanation or translation at all so the readers have to have certain
knowledge to understand, however those foreign parts have no essential
meaning and the readers who do not understand them are not losing
anything important including the plot. Adding foreign words make the
whole book more diverse and interesting, for example Cromwell
overhears a young boy singing an Italian song while the boy is working:
’Scaramella va alla guerra
Colla lancia et la rotella
La zombero boro borombetta
La boro borombo …’64
There is no translation of the song, so those who do not speak Italian
have absolutely no idea what the song is about. In the book there are also
words of Latin meaning that occur in conversations among characters
e.g. conversation with the King: “Brandon’s face falls. ‘What, the same
62
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 295
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 288
64
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 206
63
28
story?’ ‘Mutatis mutandis. The servant isn’t called Robin.’ The king
meets his eyes. He smiles.”65 Again, there is no explanation what
the Latin words mean. The use of French words is also highly frequented.
In Calais people scream at Anne Boleyn “’Putain!’” and “‘Great Whore
of England’”66 The word Putain has a similar meaning as the word
whore, they are more or less of the same meaning, but the readers have to
have at least basic knowledge of French to be aware of this. Sometimes
even the whole sentence is written in another language, Hans Holbein,
talented painter says to Cromwell: “’Gefällt es Ihnen, Herr Cromwell,
sind Sie stolz darauf?’”
67
This time the author gives a translation of the
sentence: “’He says to Helen, he asks if I am pleased and proud.’”
68
A
use of foreign words is frequent throughout the book and adds a special
charm to the storyline and authenticity of the conversations between
the characters. Hilary Mantel made great deal of efforts in creating
translations into other languages with help of several other people to
whom she thanks at the end of Wolf Hall.; Delyth Neil helped with
Welsh, Leslie Wilson with German, and a Norfolk Lady who helped with
the Flemish.69 Mixing several languages together makes the book
challenging and interesting for the readers and overall illustrates
the atmosphere of Tudor England.
65
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 184
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 395
67
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 421
68
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 421
69
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 652
66
29
4. TREATMENTS OF HISTORICAL EVENTS
This chapter is focused on how the writer conceived historical facts and
placed them into the book. In the interview made by Krishnan Guru
Muthy Hilary was asked whether she wanted to tell the truth. She thought
for a while and then replied: “I am trying to make the reader aware that
there are versions behind versions behind versions.” She is trying to tell
that everyone can choose his own version. She does not want to tell the
readers only the history itself which tells the readers only what happened,
her job as a novelist is to tell us how it felt because novelists move
forward with characters. She insists that there is no possibility to have
the truth and nothing but the truth, it is necessary to approach the
evidence with an open heart. She admits that she is no historian, she is
a novelist who can open up the past and say it was like this but it needs
not to be historically correct.70
In Wolf Hall the author presents her completely new insight into the issue
of events that took place during a short historical time period: from
Henry VIII’ disenchantment with his first wife for her failure to produce
a male heir, to the execution of Thomas More. Hilary Mantel spent 5
years searching for historical facts and writing the book. She chose only
real characters and historical events that are proven to be truth. Mantel
demonstrated tremendous knowledge of history for she did not write
about characters or events that would be fictional or contradict the actual
course of history.
Hilary Mantel in Wolf Hall uses real characters and real historical events
to create the whole story. Hilary did not invent the plot of the book; she
connected lives of real people and events of the Tudor period and placed
them into Wolf Hall to create the whole brand new story, she invented
only dialogues between the characters and developed their personal
feelings and inner thoughts. Mantel uses real historical events and
70
Information used from the interview with Hilary Mantel about her book by by
Krishnan Guru-Muthy, accessed 7th January 2014, available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1wBRsQAV
30
develops them in detail; she takes real facts that are historical proven and
really happened and then creates her own version of how it happened.
J. Patrick Coby says that it is known that Thomas Cromwell’s wife and
his two little daughters died on a sweating sickness.71 Mantel uses this
tragedy for her book and creates her own version how it happened
creating dialogues and she expresses character’s feelings and makes
the story touching and more sympathetic for the readers. Hilary Mantel
uses life stories of her characters like Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, her sister
Mary Boleyn and many others that are mentioned in the story which
really happened and with a maximum precision put them into the
storyline of the book to create her incredible masterpiece.
To make Wolf Hall even more special, Mantel uses real famous citations
and applies many historical proven facts, for example when she describes
Cromwell’s father evil nature:
He tells them about the Pegasus, and about his father’s brew
house and how Walter gets fines for bad beer at least twice a year.
He tells them about how he gets fines for stealing wood, cutting
down other people’s trees, and about the too-many sheep he runs
on the common.72
Hilary Mantel describes Walter Cromwell ingeniously and there is
historical evidence that supports Mantel’s description of Cromwell’s
father. J. Patrick Coby demonstrates that Walter Cromwell was
a criminal with a bad disrepute and violent nature.73 What makes the
book so excellent is Hilary Mantel’s sense of detail, she adds interesting
historical facts that are not much known or on the contrary notoriously
popular and by this method she adds to her book the diversity. For
example G.J. Mayer mentions the title that Henry VIII gained from the
71
J. Patrick Coby, Thomas Cromwell: Machiavellian Statecraft and the English
Reformation, (UK: Lexington Books, 2009) 60
72
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 15
73
J. Patrick Coby, Thomas Cromwell: Machiavellian Statecraft and the English
Reformation, 59 - 61
31
Pope himself, Fidei Defensor, which means Defender of the faith.74 This
fact from the Tudor history is as well mentioned in Wolf Hall: “The king,
with the help from Thomas More, has written a book against Luther, for
which the Pope has granted him the title of Defender of the Faith.”75
Much of the book is historically correct, Hilary Mantel did not invent
events that would contradict the real course of history but some parts of
the book are exaggerated or slightly modified to make better impression
and to better correspond with the character’s personalities that Mantel
modified a little. One of such examples is Mary Boleyn’s situation; Weir
explains that Mary used to be the king’s mistress giving a birth to the
King’s child and she named him after the King himself. The king refused
to acknowledge the child because there was a possibility that Mary had
her son with her legal husband, William Carey, and because the King at
this time already acknowledged another boy, Henry Fitzroy, as his legal
heir.76 In Wolf Hall Hilary intended to create Anne Boleyn as one of
the evil characters so Mantel changed the reason why the king did not
acknowledge Mary Boleyn’s child:
’If you saw my son…well, why do you think I called him Henry?
The king would have owned him as his son, just as he has owned
Richmond, but my sister forbade it. He does what she says. She
means to give him a prince herself, so she doesn’t want mine in
his nursery.’77
In fact it was not Anne Boleyn’s intervention but the King himself
decided not to acknowledge Mary’s child. Mantel changes the event in
order to make Anne Boleyn an evil and unsympathetic young lady.
Wolf Hall characters and events are masterfully drawn, described and are
very historically accurate. Mantel follows the course of history
amazingly and although the book is a fictional historical novel that
describes a fictional biography Mantel copes with the historical facts
74
G.J. Meyer, The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty)
188
75
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 39
76
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 133 - 134
77
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 137
32
impressively and tries to stick to facts and at the same time create a new
insight into the issues of the Tudor period.
33
5. LITERARY CHARACTERS ANALYSIS
In this chapter the information about the book are provided and this
chapter also contains the analysis of the characters and their comparison
with the real personages. All the following characters are the main and
important people who spun the intrigues at the court of Henry VIII. There
are only the main and important characters of historical significance
mentioned in this chapter.
The book has its name after a noble family78 seat in Wolf Hall, Wiltshire
that is still standing there although it is a farm house nowadays. Wolf
Hall has also metaphorical meanings, it is everywhere the king goes,
there are always wolves that are waiting to bite a bit from the King’s
favour and generosity and they go over the dead bodies. The writer is
playing with this metaphorical meaning several times in the book, for
example when Thomas Cromwell is talking to Rafe Sadler: “The Duke of
Norfolk would fall on us like a pack of wolves.”79 Another reference to
a wolf in the book is a metaphorical meaning for plague: “They take
comfort from a belief that since the infection killed so many last year, it
won’t be so violent this year;… the wolf comes down on the sheepfold,
but not on the nights when the men with dogs are waiting for him.”80
Anne Boleyn herself and all her family are a pack of wolves that are
trying to hunt the King. Wolf Hall is also a place where all the main
characters go at the end of the book. “‘Now here, before we go to
Winchester, we have time to spare, and what I think is, Rafe, we shall
visit the Seymours.’ He writes it down. Early September. Five days. Wolf
Hall.’81
The main protagonist of the book is Thomas Cromwell, a lowborn son of
a blacksmith. In the interview with Krishnan Guru-Muthy Hilary Mantel
confides that she first chose her main protagonist, Thomas Cromwell, not
78
The Seymours, 3rd queen’s family, Jane Seymour
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 140
80
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 148
81
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 650
79
34
the historical period in which the story is set. Hilary decided to portray
Cromwell as a capable ingenious man who despite being lowborn
managed to get to the top. In Wolf Hall Mantel’s version of Cromwell is
rather a nonviolent man who is a hero rather than a villain, as some
historians perceive Thomas Cromwell. Mantel decided that Cromwell
would be a hero and she wanted to put her readers in that position. Hilary
Mantel admires him, his ability, as a son of a blacksmith, to win the
king’s favour and become a dangerously powerful man. Mantel even
admits that she was accused of excessive sympathy with Cromwell. She
also claims that she is not obsessed by her character because there must
be an ironic distance and she respects it.82
In Wolf Hall Thomas Cromwell is a man of great wit, very well educated
and very self-confident although he is ugly in appearance, which proves
the following extract in which a fisherman asks Cromwell: “’Never
forget a face, eh?’ ‘Not when it’s ugly. ’Have you seen yourself,
back?’”83 Hilary Mantel makes Cromwell a positive character who is
kind-hearted and who would never abandon his master and friend,
Thomas Wolsey, even though if it would mean a disgrace for him.
Throughout the whole book the fact that Hillary Mantel sympathies with
him is obvious; she gives Cromwell a gentle nature and she demonstrates
it many times, for example: Cromwell loves his family, even his eldest
son Gregory, who is not successful at his studies and he is not at all
capable as his father wants him to be. In Wolf Hall Thomas Cromwell
loves his son in the way he is; Cromwell is not disappointed by his son’s
bad study results and accepts it as the following extract suggests:
Gregory has little interest in his books so far, though he likes to
be told stories, dragon stories, stories of green people who live in
the woods; you can drag him squealing through a passage of Latin
82
Alexander Alter, “Hilary Mantel on her Sequel to “Wolf Hall”, “The Wall Street
Journal,
May
10,
2012,
accessed
January
10,
2014,
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/05/10/hilary-mantel-on-her-sequel-to-wolf-hall/
83
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 294
35
if you persuade him that over the page there’s a sea serpent or
a ghost.84
J. Patrick Coby reveals that in fact Thomas Cromwell was displeased by
his son’s slow progress so he always paid late to Gregory’s tutor.
Gregory was definitely a big disappointment for his father.85 Hilary
Mantel admires Cromwell so she avoids this fact and makes Cromwell
only a kind-hearted person without any faults.
Cromwell was an ambitious man and thus Hilary Mantel perceives him in
her book. The writer makes a picture of a good man who would never
destroy anyone to promote to a higher position. Cromwell means no
harm to anyone he only does what he is told by his masters, Wolsey, later
on by the King himself. Hilary Mantel shows it in the book when
Cromwell tries to save More’s life although More is threatening
Cromwell, as it is obvious in this conversation in Cromwell’s house
when More is displeased about letters which Cromwell writes. Cromwell
asks More and he replies: “‘Are you threatening me? I’m just interested.’
Yes,’ More says sadly. ‘Yes, that is precisely what I am doing.’“86 It is
obvious that Cromwell does not take the threat seriously. Elton says that
Cromwell really did try hard to save More’s life but Thomas More was
too stubborn to let Cromwell did so and Thomas More was finally
executed. 87 The storyline in Wolf Hall is written in the same way.
Another important character is Thomas More. Britannica informs that
Thomas More is generally known as a scholar, humanist and statesman,
a son of a lawyer and the author of famous Utopia. He was executed for
what he believed and “he is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic
Church.”88 Thomas More is seen as a positive figure of Tudor period and
84
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 36
J. Patrick Coby, Thomas Cromwell: Machiavellian Statecraft and the English
Reformation, 60 - 61
86
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 352
87
Elton, England Under the Tudors, 139
88
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Sir Thomas More", accessed January 22,
2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/392018/Sir-Thomas-More.
85
36
overall in the history although in Wolf Hall Thomas More is perceived
quite vice versa. Cromwell thinks of him as about someone who is a pure
evil as the following excerpts from Wolf Hall prove: “There’s something
sly in More, he enjoys embarrassing people; …”89, “He would chain you
up, for a mistranslation. He would, for a difference in your Greek, kill
you.”90 European Institute of Protestant Studies testifies that More was
cruel and fanatic supporter of the Catholic Church with radical opinions
that heretics must be punished and burnt. He personally interrogated
prisoners in his Chelsey house which was equipped for these purposes by
stocks and a whipping tree.91 In Wolf Hall Thomas Cromwell is very well
familiar with More’s fanatic personality and remarks:
When heretics are taken, he stands by at the Tower while the
torture is applied. It is reported that in his gatehouse at Chelsea he
keeps suspects in the stocks, while he preaches at them and
harries them: the name of your printer, the name of the master ….
They say he uses the whip, the manacles and the torment-frame
they call Skeffington’s Daughter.92
More is in fact making his own intrigues and he is fighting against
Marxism and tries to search for heretics who are tortured and asked for
information about other heretics and forbidden books. Thomas More has
dedicated his life to the God and blindly adheres to his faith.
Thomas Cromwell is perpetually making fun of More and demonstrating
his disagreement with his opinions. It is obvious from the extract where
Thomas More tells Thomas Cromwell about his opinion about women in
his household:
‘Because one must keep them employed,’ he says. ‘They cannot
always be at their books, and young women are prone to mischief
89
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 227
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 152
91
European Institute of Protestant Studies, “Thomas More: Zero Tolerance (Part II),”
accessed February 23, 2014,
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
92
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 298, 299
90
37
and idleness.’ ‘For sure,’ he mutters. ‘They’ll be fighting in
the streets next.’93
Cromwell is constantly laughing at his strange and radical opinions and
he often has sarcastic comments on More, sometimes only in his
thoughts, Mantel intended this in order to entertain her readers and to
underline his fanatic nature: “…; he thinks in irritation, why More can
never get a proper shave? Can’t he make time, shorten his whipping
schedule?”
94
Hilary Mantel chooses a favourite well-known historical
person who is widely perceive to be a positive figure in history and
presents the dark side of his character and in a way make fun of it.
Next man of faith in Wolf Hall is Cardinal Wolsey. Alison Weir points
out that Wolsey was not a butcher’s son, as is state in Wolf Hall but he
was a son of an Ipswich grazier and wool merchant. Wolsey was still of
humble origins as well as Cromwell but Wolsey had a better education;
he studied at Oxford and graduated only at the age of fifteen. 95 Wolsey
managed to obtain an education and became cardinal of York. He was
the king’s faithful servant but unfortunately for Wolsey he was hated by
many people among them Anne Boleyn, she blamed him of destroying
her engagement with Henry Percy. There were other noble people who
hated Wolsey since they felt that he was stealing away what should have
been theirs, the power cardinal had so they decided to use Anne Boleyn
and destroy the cardinal for good.96 Wolsey had the King’s confidence so
Henry turned to him for help and advice about the doubts he had about
his marriage. Alison Weir adds that the cardinal was horrified by
the King’s ‘Great matter’97 and begged Henry to change his mind and
abandon the idea of getting divorce. However the queen was of
a different opinion and thought that her unhappiness is all Wolsey’s
fault.98 In Wolf Hall the situation is pictured in the same way, the queen
93
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 230
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 281
95
Weir, Henry VIII; King and Court, 87
96
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 156 – 157, 168
97
Situation around the King’s desire for divorce
98
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 174- 175
94
38
hates Wolsey because she thinks he is plotting against her and drags her
from the King’s favour:
Ever since Wolsey rose in the king’s service, the queen claims, he
has been working to push her out of her rightful place as Henry’s
confidante and adviser. He has used every means he can, she says,
to drive me from the king’s side, so that I know nothing of his
projects, and so that he, the cardinal, should have the direction of
all.99
In Wolf Hall Wolsey is pictured as a clever man who means no harm to
anyone, what he wants is to make his king Henry to be happy and
satisfied. He helps the King’s friends many times; once he helps Charles
Brandon, the King’s closest friend, escape the death but in return Charles
was plotting against Wolsey who was outraged and furious about it.
And he,’ the cardinal says, furious, ‘he, Brandon, when he
married the king’s sister out of hand – when he married her in
the first days of her widowhood, knowing the king intended her
for another monarch – his head would have been parted from his
body, if I, a simple cardinal, had not pleaded for him to
the king.’100
Alison Weir confirms that this conversation between Charles Brandon
and the Cardinal really happened and the content of the conversation was
almost identical when Wolsey declared:
‘If I, a simple cardinal, had not been, you should have had at this
present time no head upon your shoulders wherein you should
have a tongue to make any such report in despite of us.’101
Wolf Hall Wolsey is overall portrayed as a kind-hearted elderly man,
the King’s humble servant and Cromwell’s good master, but according to
Alison Weir, Wolsey was interested purely and solely in himself. She
explains that Wolsey’s biggest ambition was to become the Pope but he
failed and blamed the Spanish emperor because he refused to help him.102
99
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 83
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 186
101
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 204
102
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 112
100
39
In Wolf Hall Wolsey claims that he never favoured anyone or anything
but peace: “The cardinal says, wearily, ‘I have never favoured the
French, nor the Emperor neither: I have favoured peace.’”103 Alison Weir
adds that this statement is not entirely true because Wolsey always
favoured his own business. Finally Wolsey was destroyed by Anne
Boleyn and her faction that included lord Rochford (Anne’s Brother),
Norfolk (Anne’s uncle) and Suffolk and Charles Brandon, whom the
Cardinal helped to save his life.104 In Wolf Hall Wolsey meets exactly the
same fate with the fact that Mantel highlights Anne’s causing of cardinals
fall.
Anne Boleyn, a Wolf Hall’s character masterfully created, is one of
the key characters in the book although she is not the main protagonist.
Alison Weir explains that nowadays Anne Boleyn is historically seen in
two ways: on one hand she is portrayed as ‘Jezebel’, the great Whore and
Concubine by hostile Catholic writers who would do anything to drag her
from the King, they claimed that Anne Boleyn was committing adultery
and incest to give the King a son in order to save herself from execution.
On the other hand, she was perceived by Protestant writers as the saintly
queen who brought a true religion to England and who gave life to the
great queen Elisabeth I. Both of these claims exaggerate the reality; Anne
was not guilty of any incest or adultery but she was not saint either. From
historical perspective is known, that Anne Boleyn had many enemies but
the worst of them was Anne herself; she treated her enemies openly with
a great disrespect and vindictiveness, overall she was indiscreet and
arrogant. Anne Boleyn was not a typical beauty but she has a special
charm, she had vivacious personality, was graceful and had a good wit.105
Hilary Mantel portraits her exactly in the same way, see example in Wolf
Hall when Hans Holbein wants to paint Anne but Cromwell suggests that
it is not quite a good idea: “’I would like to paint her. Anna Bolena.’
103
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 83
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 182
105
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 143, 144, 151
104
40
‘They say she is not beautiful.’ ‘No, perhaps she is not. You would not
choose her as a model for a Primavera.’”106
Hilary Mantel describes Anne perfectly; she captures Anne’s explosive
temper and personality. Anne Boleyn was ambitious and did not stop
before she got exactly what she wanted. Mantel describes her character at
the time when the King tried to gain an annulment of his marriage with
Katherine of Aragon and this took a very long time. Alison Weir explains
that Anne started to lose her patience and started growing old, her
relationship with the King became to be stormy and they quarrelled a lot.
It was more difficult to deal with her because she started to think she was
losing her dream to be the Queen of England.107 In Wolf Hall Anne is
portrayed as an annoying woman who is constantly dissatisfied with
everything and everyone and treats them with disrespect being very
arrogant and suspicious. In the book Cromwell meets Mary Boleyn,
Anne’s sister, and she informs Cromwell: “’When she sees my lord
father she holds up a palm to him, don’t dare speak…and when she sees
me, she gives me a little pinch. Sometimes I am bruised. She thinks to
disfigure me.’”108 Hilary Mantel describes Anne’s character perfectly,
which proves the extract in which Cromwell is speaking with Mary
Boleyn discussing Anne and the King:
’They quarrelled. So one hears.’ ‘First he quarrelled with
Katherine. Then he came here for sympathy. Anne said what! I
told you not to argue with Katherine, you know you always lose.
If he were not a king,’ she says with relish, ‘one could pity him.
For the dog’s life they lead him.’109
There is historical evidence as Alison Weir writes that this situation
really happened, which also proves that Anne sometimes treated the King
incorrectly.
106
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 372
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 211
108
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 139
109
Manter, Wolf Hall, 203
107
41
Henry was immovable on that issue, and the quarrel ended with
him leaving to seek comfort from Anne Boleyn. Yet she, knowing
he had been with Katherine, was decidedly unsympathetic. ‘Did I
not tell you that whenever you argue with the Queen she is sure to
have the upper hand?’ she scolded. ‘I see that some fine morning
you will succumb to her reasoning, and cast me off!’ With this,
Henry had enough, and fled back to his own apartments in search
of peace.110
Throughout Wolf Hall Anne Boleyn is described as a heartless monster
but Mantel exaggerates her character to make the book more interesting.
In the book Cromwell informs the women in his household: “’She
provokes the king’s temper,’ he says. ‘He complains Katherine never in
her life spoke to him as Anne does. Norfolk says she uses language to
him you wouldn’t use to a dog.’”111 Alison Weir explains that Anne had
obviously less feelings for the King than the King had for her. Anne was
using the King to get what she wanted. In the book Anne even declares:
“’There is a prophecy that a queen of England will be burned. But
a prophecy does not frighten me, and even if it is true, I will run
the risk.’”112 Anne is also really vengeful and unforgiving, she did not
forget about the broken engagement, which Anne incorrectly thought
Cardinal Wolsey constructed but in fact it was the King’s doing that
broke the engagement because he wanted Anne for himself. Anne was
angry and promised Cardinal a bitter revenge.113 This is mentioned in
the book as well, after the Wolsey’s fall, which was caused by the Boleyn
faction, Thomas Cromwell correctly thinks: “He thinks, Anne arranged
this, and it must have given her an intense and secret pleasure; vengeance
deferred, for herself, for her old love, once berated by the cardinal and
sent packing from the court.”114 Thomas Cromwell also thinks that Anne
is a cruel and purposeful woman, Hilary Mantel makes a funny note
when Cromwell gives Anne a gift: “At New Year he had given Anne a
present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use
110
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 213
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 309
112
Mantel, Wolf Hall 243
113
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 157, 158
114
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 260
111
42
them to eat with, not to stick in people.”115 Anne Boleyn was widely
unpopular, especially with women because they were compassionate with
Katherine and hated Anne for trying to steal the King from the Queen.
Anne Boleyn is desperate about it and wants people to love her: “’They
say the people love Katherine, but really, it is just the women, they pity
her. We will show them something better. They will love me, when this
creature is out of me.’”116 Weir adds that Katherine was indeed very
popular and the King was afraid there could be riots in the streets.117 In
Wolf Hall is also obvious that Anne Boleyn is hated by many people,
both nobles and King’s subjects, ambassador Chapuys tells what he
thinks of Anne Boleyn to Cromwell: “’A friend! She is a witch, you
know? She has put the king under an enchantment, so he risks everything
– to be cast out of Christendom, to be damned.’”118 Weir adds that today
is known that Anne Boleyn was not the cause why the King wanted the
divorce, she was merely a catalyst, Henry himself realized that his
marriage could be against Leviticus long before he met Anne Boleyn and
the main reason was absence of male heirs.119 Hilary Mantel makes Anne
Boleyn the cause why the King wants a divorce to make the book more
entertaining and Anne more evil. In conclusion, Anne Boleyn is
a negative character in Wolf Hall but the reason for it is that Mantel
creates her like that; Anne Boleyn was not a bad person only a modern
type of a woman that a modern society of the 21st century would call
a gold-digger.
Henry VIII is described in Wolf Hall as an almighty king who can do
whatever pleases him, the King who is surrounded by his advisors and
councillors as it gives an impression that he is unable to deal with
anything on his own. Throughout all his life there are men like Thomas
Wolsey, Thomas More or Thomas Cromwell who help the King with his
whims and wishes; the King seems helpless without his three Thomases.
115
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 296
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 469
117
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 171, 179
118
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 323
119
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 137, 171
116
43
The King even lets everyone wake up in the middle of the night just
because he has a bad dream about his dead brother and needs
an explanation; he said to Cromwell: “‘Cromwell, my dead brother came
to me in a dream.”120 The King is unable to cope both with his dream or
his life so he needs others to comfort him. Mantel made the King
incapable but in reality the King was very capable of everything but at
the same time very unpredictable.
Henry is blinded by love; the only thing he wants is the divorce with his
Spanish consort and then finally marries Anne Boleyn, the love of his
life. “He only wants one thing, and that is Anne in his bed; ….” 121 He
lives only for Anne, he was passionately in love even after many years of
waiting, and he has his eyes only for her: “When the king saw Anne, his
face had lit up. His heart is ardent; in his councillor’s hand, it burns to the
touch.”122 The love for Anne seems to be the only thing which is steady
and predictable in the King’s life for he has very unpredictable character:
“You could watch Henry every day for a decade and not see the same
thing. Sometimes he seems hapless, sometimes feckless, sometimes
a child, sometimes master of his trade.”123 Besides the King’s
unpredictable temper he was very explosive: “The King has a high voice,
for a big man, and it rises when he is angry to an ear-throbbing
shriek.”124 Nobody could be sure of the King’ favour: “The King has
given Wolsey a pardon, but if he was offended once, he can be offended
again."125 Henry was very well educated in theology and thus was very
superstitious and was afraid of the prophecies which were foreseen by
the Maid of Kent: “’And if you enter into a form of marriage with this
unworthy woman, you will not reign seven months.’”
126
The King took
those kinds of prophecies seriously and was afraid because he was not
120
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 274
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 137
122
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 367
123
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 436 - 437
124
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 339
125
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 238 - 239
126
Mantel, Wolf Hall, 397
121
44
sure whether the God is not angry with him because of the divorce with
Katherine of Aragon.
Hilary Mantel faithfully captured Henry’s character and the way he
considers different matters and things although his entire personality is
not depicted in details. In Wolf Hall the main reason why the King wants
the divorce is devoted love for Anne Boleyn. In fact the original reason
was Henry’s doubts about the validity of his marriage with Katherine of
Aragon. “To Henry’s mind he was as good as childless, lacking a male
heir, and years of worrying whether the prohibition in Leviticus applied
to his own marriage had by now crystallised into the conviction that
indeed it did. He and Katherine had offended against the law of God
…”127
Hilary Mantel is an impressive writer and she managed to create
characters and plot that perfectly fit to the age when they belong. She
modifies her characters to fit to her story but still she made an excellent
work. She pictures the characters of Wolf Hall according to her own
imagination but the basic elements of historically based facts she is
leaving unchanged to add credibility to her book.
127
Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 137
45
CONCLUSION
The aim of this bachelor thesis was to analyse the book called Wolf
Hall written by Hilary Mantel. The main goal was to discover how she
dealt with elaboration of some of the Wolf Hall characters, how
she refined the period of which she writes about and the way of
incorporating her main character, Thomas Cromwell into it. This work
examines the treatment of historical facts and events and how Hilary
Mantel includes them into the book; whether the treatment of historical
facts is accurate or whether Mantel creates her own storyline remote
the actual events.
Before it was possible to start with the analysis itself, the certain facts
and events from the Tudor History had to be mentioned for a proper
understanding of affairs that are happening in Wolf Hall and to correctly
follow Cromwell’s actions and understand his feelings and the reason
why he does certain things in the book, for example why he is so loyal to
Wolsey even though he is already disgraced. From the first chapter it is
necessary to know that Henry VIII wanted to divorce his royal Spanish
consort Katherine of Aragon because she could not bear any more
children, which meant she could not give England a son, an heir who
would continue the line of the Tudors. However, Henry VIII desired for a
male heir to the throne, it was his responsibility and the biggest desire to
secure the future of his realm and this was exactly the moment when
Anne Boleyn, a young charming lady, came to a play and tried to seduce
the King by her charisma and a promise of a male heir. Anne Boleyn was
as clever as a fox and she knew all about the palace intrigues and she
personally was involved in many of them. Because of her Boleyn faction
and intrigues they were spinning against Cardinal Wolsey, he was
discredited and with his downfall Thomas Cromwell, a main character of
the book, came to the King’ services and this was the breaking point of
the story. In this part of the book Mantel emphasises Cromwell’s loyalty
and a determination not to leave his friend and master.
46
In the second chapter there are discussed intrigues and courtiers who spin
them with the main explanation why. The two important factions fight
against each other: a faction that supports Anne Boleyn and her desire to
be the queen of England and Henry’s lawful wife contra a faction whose
leader is Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey is aware of the fact that if Anne
Boleyn wins, it will mean his fall. Thus he is trying to convince the King
not to divorce Katherine but the King is too stubborn to listen to
Wolsey’s advice. A glimpse into the life and entertainment at the King's
court is also mentioned because during one of the pageants, main royal
pastime, Henry meets his future wife, Anne Boleyn. The whole book
Wolf Hall is riddled with intrigues, therefore it was essential to mention
and explain at least those two factions plotting and trying to destroy one
another.
Literary language is analysed in the third chapter. The element which
gives the book its uniqueness is a use of third person narrative, which
means that Hilary Mantel is referring to Cromwell as “he” rather than
Cromwell and comments that this idea came spontaneously. She wants
her readers to see and feel everything in the same way just as Cromwell
does. Mantel explains the use of contemporary language with
an argument that we live in a 21st century and not in the Tudor England.
If she had used old English most of the readers would have not even
understood. Another interesting sign of the book is that Mantel is not
using only English but many other languages because in Tudor times it
was a standard for high rank people to speak many languages. It has to be
taken into consideration that Henry’s first wife came from Spain and
originally could not speak English so they had to communicate in French,
which was a common tongue. This method of using a large scale of
languages makes the book very interesting although it is not possible to
understand if the reader does not speak the given language but in case of
important matters the translation is provided.
The main goal of this bachelor thesis was to analyse whether Mantel is
writing the book according to the factual events and is strictly following
47
the historical facts and data or if she adds her own stories and characters.
After a thorough review of many sources and analysing those facts using
several specialized books the conclusion is that Hilary Mantel is strictly
following historic events without a small branch from the actual history.
Mantel herself declares that it is impossible to know every single detail
from the history. She uses real events and interprets them in her own
individual way without telling wrong details and inaccurate information
about the Tudor history. However, Mantel’s characters are slightly
modified, which is dealt in the fifth chapter where there is an analysis of
the main characters from Wolf Hall. Mantel did not create her characters
she chose real personages that really existed and adjusted them according
to her own imagination partly ignoring historical sources. She creates her
characters interesting, unpredictable and believable, which make the
readers love them or hate them. Mantel only changed natures of her
characters and she had her own reason to do so because she intended to
make the book interesting and pleasurable to read. The writer wanted to
bring her readers close to the Wolf Hall characters and made the readers
sympathize with them.
In conclusion Hilary Mantel created a masterpiece and breathed life into
the characters, especially Thomas Cromwell who was introduced from a
different point of view and thus the story of the Tudors that is well
known became different, thrilling and full of surprises. She managed it
without changing historical facts, events and dates with only a slight
modification of her characters. She had a brilliant idea to use a real event
and put her breath taking story into this interesting and dangerous Tudor
age. Despite the fact that almost everyone knows the story about the
Tudors and Thomas Cromwell from history classes and its ending is
obvious, in case of the book the readers are constantly surprise as if the
story has never been told before. Hilary Mantel made a lot of effort to
create a different story from the old well known one and give her readers
unforgettable book which is not to be left on a bookshelf full of dust but
this book is meant to read over and over again.
48
RESUMÉ
Tato bakalářská práce je věnována rozboru historického románu Wolf
Hall, napsaného britskou spisovatelkou a autorkou mnoha historických
románů Hilary Mantel, která za svou historickou autobiografickou fikci
Wolf Hall získala hned několik ocenění a mnoho nominací na prestižní
ceny. Dílo bylo napsané v roce 2009 a ihned poté se stalo velmi
populární mezi čtenáři a navíc bylo také přeloženo do mnoha světových
jazyků.
Autorka zvolila název knihy podle starobylého rodinného sídla
urozeného rodu Seymourů, kam se na konci knihy vydává sám král se
svou družinou. Toto sídlo stále ještě stojí, ačkoliv se z něj postupem času
stala rodinná farma. Wolf Hall v překladu znamená vlčí sál a v knize má
několik metaforických významů. Například Anna Boleynová se svou
rodinou je označena jako smečka vlků, která se snaží získat moc, slávu a
peníze nehledě na nic a na nikoho.
Wolf Hall se odehrává v nechvalně známé a proslulé době Tudorovské
Anglie, kdy byl u moci tvrdohlavý, velkolepě mocný král Jindřich VIII.
Děj románu začíná obdobím manželské krize Jindřicha VIII. a jeho ženy
Kateřiny Aragonské, kdy prvopočáteční vášeň a láska nadobro vyhasla a
Jindřich byl okouzlen novou charizmatickou a elegantní šlechtičnou,
Annou Boleynovou. Ačkoli byl král Annou velice posedlý a okouzlený,
jeho hlavním důvodem, proč žádal o rozvod se svou španělskou chotí,
byla absence mužského potomka, který by usedl na tudorovský trůn a
zajistil tak pokračování a dlouholetou budoucnost Tudorovského rodu.
Jindřichův nárok na trůn nebyl příliš jistý, jeho otec, Jindřich VII., trůn
uchvátil v boji, kde porazil svého úhlavního nepřítele krále Jiřího III.,
který byl zrazen vlastním vojskem, a tím ukončil dlouholeté krveprolití
známé pod názvem válka růží. Jindřich měl na trůn ovšem pouze kradmý
nárok, a z právního hlediska jeho nárok na trůn byl nelegitimní.
Existovali zde šlechtici, kteří na trůn měli větší, právoplatnější nárok.
Z toho důvodu musel Jindřich VII. lépe zajisti následnictví pro své
49
potomky lépe zajistit a upevnit jej tím, že dohodne sňatek pro svého
prvorozeného syna Artura s mladou a krásnou španělskou princeznou,
Kateřinou Aragonskou, která byla výhodnou partií už jenom z toho
důvodu, že Španělsko byla světová velmoc a s jeho podporou by si nikdo
nedovolil zpochybnit Jindřichův nárok na trůn. Navíc Španělsko bylo
zapřisáhlým nepřítelem Francie, což se Jindřichovi velice zamlouvalo.
Osud tomuto sňatku však nepřál a krátce po královské svatbě Artur
zemřel, čímž zanechal Kateřinu bez manžela a bezmocnou v cizí zemi.
Kateřina si později vzal Arturova bratra, Jindřicha VIII., ale musela
odpřisáhnout, že je stále panna, protože Bible zakazovala jakémukoli
muži pojmout za manželku bratrovu ženu, a tak bylo nutné získat
povolení od samotného papeže, který k tomuto sňatku poté dal své
povolení s požehnáním. Tady nastává hlavní problém rozvodu
s Kateřinou, která přísahala, že do manželského lože s princem
Jindřichem vešla jako panna, ale pro uskutečnění rozvodu bylo nutné
dokázat, že pannou již nebyla, a tudíž manželství Jindřicha a Kateřiny
bylo proti Boží vůli.
Wolf Hall je kniha plná intrik a zápletek, které jsou zajímavě pojaté a
mistrně zpracované. Život vysoce postavených lidí na králově dvoře byl
pohádkově bezstarostný, dvořané si užívali jednoduchý život a jednou
z nejoblíbenějších aktivit byla divadelní představení. Při jednom z těchto
představení Jindřich poprvé uviděl přenádhernou Annu Boleynovou
v roli jedné z hlavních postav, kde urozené dívky představovaly ctnosti, a
Anna ztělesňovala Zdrženlivost. Kromě zábav a různých kratochvil byly
intriky oblíbenou zábavou zdejších dvořanů. Pro Wolf Hall jsou důležité
dvě frakce intrikánů; rodina Anny Boleynové, která si přeje z krále a
z možného sňatku s ním získat peníze, tituly a společenské postavení.
Anna je dost chytrá na to, aby se poučila ze sestřiných chyb, protože její
sestra Mary byla milenkou krále a nakonec skončila těhotná a zavrhnutá.
Tato frakce rodiny Boleynů soupeří s kardinálem Thomasem Wolseym,
který měl moc tak velkou skoro jako sám král, což mu přinášelo spoustu
nepřátel. Tomuto kardinálu pomáhá hlavní postava Thomas Cromwell.
50
Tyto dvě frakce se smrtelně nenáviděly a Wolsey nebyl žádný blázen,
moc dobře věděl, že kdyby si Anna vzala krále, znamenalo by to jeho
konec, protože Anně dříve překazil sňatek s významným šlechticem
Henrym Percym. Ironií ovšem je, že Wolsey byl ten, kdo měl Jindřichovi
jeho vytoužený rozvod zařídit. V tomto směru ovšem Wolsey selhal, král
na něj vydal zatykač, ale Wolsey zemřel dřív, než byl odveden a zavřen
do Londýnského Toweru. Po Wolseyho smrti se dostal k moci Thomas
Cromwell a začal vykonávat službu pro krále, v níž se dopracoval až na
samotného kancléře. Anna dostala to, co si vytoužila, a stala se královnou
Anglie.
Hilary Mantel ve své knize používá unikátní způsob vyprávění. Thomas
Cromwell není pouze hlavní postavou, ale on sám je i vypravěčem celého
příběhu a čtenář vnímá celý příběh Cromwellovýma očima. Román je tak
mistrně psaný, že se čtenář cítí být příběhem naprosto vtažen do děje.
Vidí a vnímá postavy stejně tak, jako je vnímá sám Cromwell, což
dodává knize její jedinečnost. Hilary se jednou svěřila novinářům, že
když ona sama nahlíží na celý příběh Cromwellovýma očima, tak ho
zkrátka nemůže oslovovat jako Thomas Cromwell v knize, ale používá
prosté označení zájmenem ON a tato speciální technika se poté stala
hlavním rysem knihy. Mantel používá v celé knize moderní jazyk, a to
z toho důvodu, že angličtina se od dob Tudorovské éry změnila a vyvíjela
natolik, že by bylo velice těžké psát i rozumět takovéto angličtině.
Autorka sice není historička, ale je velice znalá historie, a aby svou knihu
ještě více ozvláštnila, použila kromě angličtiny, ve které je kniha psaná, i
další jazyky, které se v té době používaly jako například francouzštinu,
italštinu, latinu, ale autorka originálně zakomponovala i velštinu, což
bylo velice zajímavé. Občas byl ovšem problém s porozuměním, protože
pokud čtenář nemluví danou řečí, tak té určité pasáži nerozumí. Jedná se
ale spíše o ozvláštnění a čtenáři neuniká nic z hlavní pointy příběhu.
Pokud se jedná o něco důležitého, Mantel samozřejmě překlad
zakomponovala.
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Hlavním záměrem této bakalářské práce bylo zjistit, zda se autorka řídí
historickými fakty, nebo zda se od nich odkloňuje a vytváří vlastní
koncept příběhu. Na otázku, jestli chce vyprávět pravdivý příběh, autorka
odpověděla, že její úděl je rozvést příběh do hloubky a ukázat jen jednu z
možností, jak se tento příběh mohl, ale také nemusel odehrát. Autorka
poskytla naprosto nový a fascinující pohled do problematiky života
Thomase Cromwella, přesto se však držela skutečných událostí a postav.
Mantel mistrně využila historicky zdokumentovaných údajů a dotvořila
jimi svoji verzi toho, jak se to celé mohlo odehrát dle její úžasné fantazie.
Například je historicky dosvědčené, že Cromwellovy děti zemřely na
potivou nemoc, ale žádné další detaily již známy nejsou. Tady začíná
práce autorky dotvořit příběh tak, aby oslovil čtenáře, a přitom mu dodat
určitý smysl a lidskost. Tímto způsobem autorka dosáhla toho, že kniha
je čtivá a zajímá, ale zároveň se nikterak rapidně neodkloňuje od historie,
nabízí jen možnou alternativu, jak se tato nešťastná událost mohla
odehrát, ale události popsané v knize si nikdy neprotiřečí s prověřenými
fakty. Mantel příběh o Wolf Hall nemusela celý vymýšlet, použila
skutečné historické události, osobnosti a domyslela si pouze dialogy či
možné verze, jak se nám známá historie mohla odehrát. Pospojovala
dohromady ty příběhy, které jsou historicky ověřené, a tím vytvořila své
mistrovské dílo. Je tedy nutné zdůraznit, že Hilary Mantel má velké
znalosti z historie, a nepoužila jedinou postavu, která by nebyla
historicky podložená a všechny události, které se v knize odehrávají, jsou
historicky podložené a ověřené. Přestože je tedy kniha Wolf Hall pouze
historickou fikcí, údaje a příběhy v ní se odehrávající jsou natolik
historicky akurátní a podložené, že by kniha mohla téměř sloužit jako
učebnice.
Poslední kapitola bakalářské práce se zaměřuje na rozbor literárních
postav Wolf Hall. Přestože nejvýznamnější a neproslavenější reálnou
osobou této doby je samotný král Jindřich VIII., hlavním hrdinou příběhu
je králův mazaný kancléř, Thomas Cromwell. Thomas Cromwell je
nízkého původu, syn prostého kováře bez valných vyhlídek na zářnou
budoucnost, proto Hilary Mantel klade veliký důraz na fakt, že pro
52
Jindřicha VIII. už nebyl důležitý pouze rodokmen, původ a vznešená
krev, ale spíše preferoval schopné muže, kteří svou užitečnost dokazují
činy, ne pečetí na papíře. Autorka se v rozhovoru svěřila, že nejdřív
vybrala svou hlavní postavu, ne dobu, ve které se děj odehrává, a také se
přiznala, že se svou hlavní postavou začala velice sympatizovat, což pro
autory není příliš dobré a mohlo by to zkreslit její úsudek. Cromwell má
v knize velice milou povahu, je to milující otec i manžel a věrný
služebník svého pána kardinála Wolseyho. Je to chytrý, schopný člověk a
je vykreslen jako velice ošklivý muž. V knize mu jde pouze o dobro
svých bližních, ale toto je v kontradikci se skutečností, protože Cromwell
byl ve skutečnost bezskrupulózní manipulátor toužící pouze po moci a po
penězích.
Thomas Cromwell slouží kardinálu Wolseymu, který je také popsán jako
mírumilovný muž víry, jenž touží pouze po tom, aby byl jeho král
spokojen a správně vládl. Wolf Hall Wolsey je mírumilovný starý muž
smířený se svým osudem a sloužící pouze a výhradně Bohu a králi, což
ve skutečnosti nebyla pravda, Wolsey sloužil výhradně a exkluzivně
pouze sobě a svým záležitostem. Hilary Mantel z těchto dvou postav
vytvořila lepší muže, než jakými ve skutečnosti byli. Naopak z postavy
Thomase Mora udělala sadistického a fanatického následovníka
křesťanské víry, který nechal upálit mnoho lidí, a jehož mysl byla velice
omezená, což z historického hlediska není vůbec pravda. Kromě toho, že
More následoval svou víru a byl ochoten za ni i zemřít, to byl
dobrosrdečný muž, i když je pravda, že co se obhajoby víry týkalo,
dokázal být velice nelítostný a krutý. Postava Anny Boleynové je také
mírně poupravená. Je pravda, že Anna byla pomstychtivá žena a chtěla se
kardinálovi mstít za zničenou možnost dobře se provdat za Henry
Percyho, ale rozhodně to nebyla nelidská potvora, jak ji Hilary Mantel
popsala. V tomto případě autorka hodně přeháněla ve vykreslování
špatných vlastností Anny Boleynové, se záměrem udělat z ní zápornou
postavu celé knihy. Ve skutečnosti Anna byla peněz chtivá mladá dáma,
ale rozhodně ne tak zlá, jak je reprezentována v románu. Je jisté, že
k Jindřichovi chovala jisté city, ale dozajista ne tak silné, jaké Jindřich
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choval k ní. Z literárního rozboru hlavních postav tedy vyplývá, že se
Hilary Mantel úplně nedržela historických poznatků, které jsou
z tudorovské doby dostupné, ale popustila uzdu své fantazie a vykreslila
postavy tak, jak uznala za vhodné. Ona sama tvrdí, že to co píše, nemusí
být nutně podle skutečných událostí, i když většina z toho je historicky
velmi akurátní. Autorka v rozhovoru dala jasně najevo, že chce dát svým
čtenářům nový a čerstvý pohled na věc a každý z nich si musí najít svou
pravdu a udělat si o knize svůj vlastní názor. Kniha je velice zajímavou
verzí příběhu, který je velmi dobře známý, a tudíž i jeho konec není
žádným překvapením, ale autorka dokázala tento příběh pojmout tak
zajímavým způsobem, že čtenář je překvapen a napnut při četbě této
knihy až do úplného konce, i přesto, že ví, jak příběh nakonec skončí.
54
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